Notebook: Glauber, Sanchez, Duka And More

When it comes to new Crew signee Glauber, technical director Brian Bliss said what you see is
what you get.

“He’s a natural left-footer,” Bliss said. “He’s very combative in the air. Good pace for his
size. He’s a guy that you know he relishes the idea of defending. You can see that when he defends.”<
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Glauber comes to the Crew after making 46 appearances from 2010-13 for with Romanian First
Division team Rapid Bucharest. Before that, he made one appearance for Manchester City during the
2008-09 season and three seasons with FC Nurnberg of the German Bundesliga.

Bliss confirmed that Glauber was sidelined by an injury with Nurnberg that cost him much of his
second season. He also had an injury while playing for Rapid Bucharest, although Bliss said he
played in the final 17 games of the past season.

“Our guys told us that,” Bliss said. “I was surprised because he only played one game there. He
never really saw the field, so how he became a cult figure I don’t know, but if we’re associated
with Man City in that regard it can’t be a bad thing.”

Glauber should slot in next to Chad Marshall as a central defender, although head coach Robert
Warzycha cautioned against putting any pairings down in pen.

“It’s going to give us some options,” he said. “Last year we plugged Chad as our starting
central defender but he missed a lot of games. It’s difficult to pair him up with somebody or pair
him with Josh Williams or Danny O’Rourke. All of these guys are in the mix. We’ll go to Florida and
figure out who needs to be on the field.”

Any further Crew signings – particularly of the international variety – are likely to not be
defenders.

“You don’t want to be bringing more guys in if you don’t think they’re going to be a starter
because then you’ve got that money on the bench,” Bliss said. “If we’re looking to bring other guys
in, especially foreign guys, they’ve got to be guys you’re counting on to start. Seeing as how Milo
is departing, we’re probably looking for something there to give (Tony) Tchani a run for his money.”<
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Duka DealWarzycha said the Crew hopes to have the much-debated Dilly Duka trade finalized soon.

“I’m hoping before the end of the week that we’re going to have it done,” he said.

I asked Warzycha for his thoughts on the departing Duka, who is clearly talented but did not
produce like expected last season.

“It is what it is,” the coach said. “He’s a talented player but obviously having only two
assists all season, that says everything about it. He needs to find an environment where he can
produce more. Hopefully the team he’s going to go next, he’s going to do it because he didn’t do it
for us for whatever reason.”

Crew Academy ProductsAfter signing two homegrown players this offseason, the Crew came up short in its efforts to
land a third when Matt Wiet opted to stay at UCLA to finish his schooling. Bliss said the club will
revisit with Wiet and his agent this summer once school is out.

“I thought we had a legitimate chance to bring him in, otherwise I don’t think we would have
offered him something,” he said. “He’s working on a pre-med degree and wants to be a doctor, so you
can’t begrudge him the fact that he’s got two quarters at UCLA that he wants to make sure he gets
all the credits he needs to get his degree. He’s invested in his education and wants to see it
through.

“Now, there’s no guarantee there’s going to be a roster spot or money to do something, so we’ll
play it by ear when we get there.”

In addition, Bliss confirmed that the Crew did not offer a contract to Justin Luthy, who went
undrafted. He could resurface on the Crew’s radar soon, however.

“He’s one of our guys and it might be worth it for us to pitch him a call and see if he’d like
to get a look with our guys,” Bliss said. “We weren’t certainly going to sign him as a homegrown
guy, but maybe now bringing him in makes more sense than automatically giving him that spot and
guaranteeing him for the year. I think he was somebody we probably want to revisit at least with a
phone call to see what his situation is.”

Sanchez RumorsThe Crew has been linked to Argentinian defensive midfielder Matias Sanchez in recent days,
and Warzycha confirmed that he is on the club’s radar.

“Absolutely he’s a possibility,” the coach said. “I think he’s a good player and he’s one of the
names that came out. We’ll see what we can do.”

However, Bliss said a deal is not imminent.

“There’s no timetable,” he said. “I think we’re a ways off on that one just based on the
discussions I’ve had in the last 7-10 days. We’re talking with a couple of other guys as well at
that position. I wouldn’t say that that’s imminent.”

Supplemental DraftHere’s what Bliss had to say about each of the Crew’s picks from today’s draft:

Reed Matte, D, University of Alabama Birmingham – “We figured he’d be a (supplemental) pick.
Looking at our roster and all that and knowing the kid a little bit, he plays in a decent
conference. Based on what was in the draft and available at that position, probably we thought he
was the best guy.”

“We know he can play. He’s a right back who can get forward. Just a really solid guy in terms of
that position.”

Bliss added that Matte was not someone the team considered taking in last week’s SuperDraft.

Daniel Withrow, GK, Marshall – “Right now he is (our top third goalkeeper candidate). We’re
still going to have a couple of guys in camp who are non-college guys. We’ve only seen him a little
bit, so we’ve got to hedge our bets and make sure we’re looking at more than just one option. If we
started the season today, he’d be the third goalkeeper.”

The Crew will carry three goalkeepers this season.

Shawn Sloan, MF, High Point – “He’s a kid from the Chicago area. He’s a wide midfielder, decent
speed, pretty feisty, real competitive. I saw him in the conference tournament this year and the
kid caught my eye a little bit. No expectations in terms of making the roster, but based on what we
saw from some of the other guys, we liked him a little bit more and we’re going to throw him that
opportunity to see if he can make the squad.”

All three players will join the Crew by Friday, Bliss said.

Training Day No. 2An overall shorter day of training than yesterday’s first day was not lacking for intensity
for the Crew.

On the indoor field at SuperKick in Lewis Center, players went through two five-minute games of
7v7 scrimmaging. Here’s how the teams were divided up:

Blue and Green played to a scoreless tie, as did Blue and Orange. The lone goal came courtesy of
Meram, who gave Green a 1-0 win against Orange.

Higuain came up with an ankle injury after a hard challenge from George. He shook it off and
continued to play, but he was one of several players to leave practice with various ice wraps.
Higuain’s was on his left knee.